Note - 1

According to most of the authorities, this invocation
(which occurs at the beginning of every surah with the
exception of surah 9) constitutes an integral part of
"The Opening" and is, therefore, numbered as verse {1}.
In all other instances, the invocation "in the name of
God" precedes the surah as such, and is not counted among
its verses. - Both the divine epithets rahman and rahim
are derived from the noun rahmah, which signifies
"mercy", "compassion", "loving tenderness" and, more
comprehensively, "grace". From the very earliest times,
Islamic scholars have endeavoured to define the exact
shades of meaning which differentiate the two terms. The
best and simplest of these explanations is undoubtedly
the one advanced by Ibn al-Qayyim (as quoted in Manar
I,48): the term rahman circumscribes the quality of
abounding grace inherent in, and inseparable from, the
concept of God's Being, whereas rahim expresses the
manifestation of that grace in, and its effect upon, His
creation - in other words, an aspect of His activity.

Note - 19

The Arabic words "Rahman" and "Rahim" translated "Most
Gracious" and "Most Merciful" are both intensive forms
referring to different aspects of God's attribute of
Mercy. The Arabic intensive is more suited to express
God's attributes than the superlative degree in English.
The latter implies a comparison with other beings, or
with other times or places, while there is no being like
unto God, and He is independent of Time and Place. Mercy
may imply pity, long-suffering, patience, and
forgiveness, all of which the sinner needs and God Most
Merciful bestows in abundant measure. But there is a
Mercy that goes before even the need arises, the Grace
which is ever watchful, and flows from God Most Gracious
to all His creatures, protecting the, preserving them,
guiding them, and leading them to clearer light and
higher life. For this reason the attribute Rahman (Most
Gracious) is not applied to any but God, but the
attribute Rahim (Merciful), is a general term, and may
also be applied to Men. To make us contemplate these
boundless gifts of God, the formula: "In the name of God
Most Gracious, Most Merciful": is placed before every
Sura of the Qur-an (except the ninth), and repeated at
the beginning of every act by the Muslim who dedicates
his life to God, and whose hope is in His Mercy.

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0

The desciption of Allah in the translations by Asad and Yusuf Ali are not appropriate. If anything, blasphemous. Defining Allah in superlative adjective suggests that Allah is being compared with something or somebody. Hear them:
Asad: In the name of Allah, the MOST GRACIOUS .....
Yusuf Ali: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The most acurate and more appropriate description of Allah is embedded in the translations given by the dou, Malik and Pickthall respectively as: In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful and "......the Beneficient, the Merciful..."
It is patently a blasphemy comparing Allah with any of His creatures. I suggest the blasphemous adjective should be removed in the new editions.
Abdul-Rahoof Ibn Bello.

1

If I understand correctly, the point being made is that there is a difference between "the embodiment of mercy" and “possessing the most mercy”. The former would be in line with Malik and Pickthall’s translation while the latter is similar to Ali and Asad. Undeniably the two meanings are different and most mufassirs seem to concur that the meaning conveyed in Arabic more closely matches the former. However, that doesn’t necessarily imply the meaning of the latter is incorrect or blasphemous. Is it really erroneous to say that Allah (swt) has more mercy than any of his creation?

0

Some of Allah (swt)'s names and attributes are unique to Allah (swt). Such as al-Khaliq (The Creator). None in His creation has any part of that attribute. But some other names and attributes are different in the sense that the creation was given a minute portion of that. One such example is mentioned in the following hadith:
Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: "Allah made mercy in one hundred parts and He retained with Him ninety-nine parts, and He has sent down upon the earth one part, and it is because of this one part that there is mutual love among the creation so much so that the animal lifts up its hoof from its young one, fearing that it might hurt it."
Hadith number in Sahih Muslim [Arabic only]: 4942
So the creation was given a small portion of Allah's mercy, but Allah (swt) is All Merciful.

0

I find your comments very interesting mr Rahoof. Will u then say that the use of HE and other like pronouns in the Quran that refer to ALLAH should not be used because they are for humans, and will mean comparing ALLAH to humans? In fact the use of superlative in English is not limited to humans but includes everything capable of showing 'mercy'.

0

Al-hamdulillahi-Rabbil-alamin, for this wonderful comments for it is a mercy from Allah(SWT) that we muslims se things from a different perspective as long as it does not invalidate our being a muslim...

Concerning the issue of translation of Ar-Rahman-ni-Rahim- i would support the view of Syed Hussain as it more convincing.

0

I enjoyed reading Salim Anik's response to Syed Husain's criticism of Yusuf Ali's translation of Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim. Brother Salim's response was comprehensive and without malice. Islam is a beautiful and peaceful deen.

0

Al-Salam u AlaikumYou can get it free download from a number of website. But it do not work in 64 Bit computer and also in Windows 7. However it works well in Visata & 32 bit.Some of the website for free download is.http://www.kalamullah.com/misc.html

Asad 1According to most of the authorities, this invocation
(which occurs at the beginning of every surah with the
exception of surah 9) constitutes an integral part of
"The Opening" and is, therefore, numbered as verse {1}.
In all other instances, the invocation "in the name of
God" precedes the surah as such, and is not counted among
its verses. - Both the divine epithets rahman and rahim
are derived from the noun rahmah, which signifies
"mercy", "compassion", "loving tenderness" and, more
comprehensively, "grace". From the very earliest times,
Islamic scholars have endeavoured to define the exact
shades of meaning which differentiate the two terms. The
best and simplest of these explanations is undoubtedly
the one advanced by Ibn al-Qayyim (as quoted in Manar
I,48): the term rahman circumscribes the quality of
abounding grace inherent in, and inseparable from, the
concept of God's Being, whereas rahim expresses the
manifestation of that grace in, and its effect upon, His
creation - in other words, an aspect of His activity.

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Yusuf Ali

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Yusuf Ali 19The Arabic words "Rahman" and "Rahim" translated "Most
Gracious" and "Most Merciful" are both intensive forms
referring to different aspects of God's attribute of
Mercy. The Arabic intensive is more suited to express
God's attributes than the superlative degree in English.
The latter implies a comparison with other beings, or
with other times or places, while there is no being like
unto God, and He is independent of Time and Place. Mercy
may imply pity, long-suffering, patience, and
forgiveness, all of which the sinner needs and God Most
Merciful bestows in abundant measure. But there is a
Mercy that goes before even the need arises, the Grace
which is ever watchful, and flows from God Most Gracious
to all His creatures, protecting the, preserving them,
guiding them, and leading them to clearer light and
higher life. For this reason the attribute Rahman (Most
Gracious) is not applied to any but God, but the
attribute Rahim (Merciful), is a general term, and may
also be applied to Men. To make us contemplate these
boundless gifts of God, the formula: "In the name of God
Most Gracious, Most Merciful": is placed before every
Sura of the Qur-an (except the ninth), and repeated at
the beginning of every act by the Muslim who dedicates
his life to God, and whose hope is in His Mercy.